The rate at which staff from the EU are quitting Birmingham hospitals is increasing - and the rate at which they are joining is falling.

Between December 2014 and December 2015, staff from the EU made up 5.3% of those leaving University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, however, by the period between December 2016 and June 2017, the proportion had risen to 7.3%.

Between December 2014 and December 2015, 45 members of staff from the EU left the trust, in comparison, in the six months to June 2017, the number that left was 38, according to research by the BBC.

In terms of EU staff joining the trust, staff from the EU made up 8.8% of those who joined between December 2014 and December 2015, but just 6.5% of those who joined between December 2016 and June 2017.

There were 88 members of staff from the EU who joined the trust between December 2014 and December 2015, compared to 40 between December 2016 and June 2017.

The Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has sought to reassure NHS employees from the EU that they continue to be welcome in the UK.

However, the British Medical Association has warned that almost half of the 10,000 EU doctors working in the UK were considering leaving in light of the result.

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Nationally, the BBC’s analysis found that EU nationals make up a larger share of staff leaving NHS jobs after the referendum than they did before it.

In the last full year before the referendum - December 2014 to December 2015 - there were 7,535 EU nationals who left NHS jobs. That meant they made up 5.6% of all NHS workers leaving their jobs.

The following year, they accounted for 6.6% of all leavers, and in the first six months of this year, they made up 7.4%.

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In terms of those joining the NHS, nurses from the EU made up 18.2% in December 2014 to December 2015, but 10.4% in the first six months of this year.

Danny Mortimer, co-convenor of the Cavendish Coalition, a group of 37 health and social care organisations which have come together to ensure staffing needs are met after Brexit, said: “The BBC’s analysis is really clear. There has been a change in 2015/16. Our experience before 2015/16 was that there were certain parts of our workforce that were a little bit more volatile - we would have some people come and stay for a year for example.

"[Now] our members don’t feel able to recruit in big numbers. There are practical challenges like the exchange rate is weak - and the number of people choosing to leave is increasing.”

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The British Medical Association said that with the NHS already at breaking point any fall in doctor numbers would be concerning, as it would lead to greater rota gaps, more pressure on existing staff and would affect the delivery of high-quality care.

All the experts agreed that while increasing the number of medical school places was welcome, the amount of time it takes for people to be fully trained mean that these extra doctors would not fill any short-term gaps in experienced staff.